How to Make Cauliflower Rice

Cauliflower is such a versatile vegetable and I’ve grown to love experimenting with it. One of my favorite things to do with this cruciferous vegetable is to turn it into “rice.”

Because rice can often leave dishes feeling heavy, it’s nice to substitute a vegetable where a starch would usually be. In addition, it’s a great way to squeeze more servings of vegetables into your day.

There are two techniques for making cauliflower rice. You can either use a box grater with the medium-size holes (pictured below) traditionally used for cheese, or a food processor with the grater blade to blitz it into small pieces. With both techniques you’re aiming for little pieces the size of rice.

One additional step I like is to press any excess moisture from the rice by transferring the cauliflower rice to a large paper towel or absorbent dish towel and squeeze/press to remove any remaining water. This ensures no excess moisture remains, which can make your dish soggy.

Once you have your cauliflower rice, it’s easy to cook! Simply sauté in a large skillet over medium heat in 1 Tbsp oil. Use a lid to cover so the cauliflower steams and becomes more tender. Cook for a total of 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, then season as desired (such as with soy sauce or salt and pepper).

Ingredients

Instructions

Wash and thoroughly dry cauliflower, then remove all greens.

If using a box grater, cut the cauliflower into large chunks and use the medium-sized holes (see photo - the side commonly used to grate cheese), to grate into "rice." If using a food processor, cut into small pieces and use the grater attachment to grate the cauliflower into "rice."

Optional: Transfer to a clean towel or paper towel and press to remove any excess moisture, which can make your dish soggy.

Once you have your cauliflower rice, it's easy to cook (or enjoy raw)! Simply sauté in a large skillet over medium heat in 1 Tbsp oil. Cover with a lid so the cauliflower steams and becomes more tender. Cook for a total of 5-8 minutes, then season as desired (such as with soy sauce or salt and pepper).

Use cauliflower rice in recipes that call for rice, such as stir fries or fried rice! Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Store uncooked cauliflower rice in the freezer up to 1 month.

Notes

*This recipe is not my original concept! It's just my preferred technique.*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.

As a chef and health food enthusiast, I recommend not removing the moisture from the cauliflower before sautéed. You are only removing nutrients that way and the water you don’t want will evaporate in the cook leaving those nutrients, in the dish….not on a paper towel.

Thanks so much for the lovely review, Pamela. We are so glad you enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo

I made this using the frozen cauliflower it doesn’t go mushy I think they press out the excess water out before they freeze it because it was not mushy I added frozen peas shredded turkey some spices It was so good I stocked up on more of the cauliflower and frozen peas it’s a good meal prep

For what it’s worth, I too do weekly meal prep and I found that, uncooked, my cauliflower rice lasted for a 5 days (maybe more, we just finished eating it after 5 days) in the fridge.
We followed the instructions to squeeze out the water, so the cauliflower rice stayed nice and crumbly, not wet.

It really only takes 3-5 minutes to cook, so it’s not a huge deal to do that part daily, once the rice is made.

Thanks so much for the lovely review, Joshua. We are so glad you enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo

OMG I just made this and for the very first time in my life I just enjoyed eating cauliflower!!! Thank you so much for posting – I will be eating this a lot and for once actually enjoying some veggies in my dinner and without having to eat carbs – awesome!

Fabulous! Looks and has the same texture of white rice! I’m thrilled to find this recipe. Also LOVE the curry!
The other recipe I tried was in an IP and then I tried to put it through a ricer! Disasterous! Was soggy and mushy! I never thought of cooking it after it was already grated raw!
Thanks soooo very much! You saved my husbands rice cravings on his Keto diet!!

Curry powder. Love this base recipe.
I used frozen cauliflower and once in the pan, I keep stirring constantly, so the moisture gets absorbed into the cauliflower. (If you stop stirring, water starts to accumulate and the cauli rice turns to mush.)
I season with curry powder or stir fry veggies and slivered almonds separately, and combine with cauli rice and toss.

Hi Kateri, you should be able to change the number of servings and the recipe will change. Let us know if you are having any trouble doing so! Olive oil or avocado oil would both be good options for sautéing.

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I’ve just started a Ketogenic diet, and my lunch menu for today is calling for cauliflower rice.
Since i had no idea what that was, i tuned to good old google which brought me to this site.
I’m grateful to all of you for the great tips and advise in making this veggie.
I’ll be posting my comments after i make it.
Thank you to you all and have a Blessed Day.

Has anyone tried roasting the cauliflower before grating? I was hoping for a nuttier brown rice flavor and thought that might work. Just afraid it would liquify. I do have a food processor I was planning to use.

Made for the first time tonight and was extremely pleased with how easy it was to prepare (I used my food processor) and how delicious it paired with the Almond Butter Tofu Stir fry. This is my go to site for the BEST vegan food. Thank you Dana.

I eat this almost every day for breakfast. I like it fresh but frozen works too. I grill up some garlic in olive oil, then toss in the “rice” and brown it. Then I’ll fry an egg in it which gives it a nice texture and some protein, then toss in whatever I have handy, avocadoes, tomatoes, peppers, meat, spinach, etc. It’s a great and filling breakfast. I use the S blade in my food processor as well and it takes no time at all. But I had to make it once at my sister’s house with a tiny food processor and it took forever (and everyone complained about the smell!)

My husband was recently diagnosed with diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, which means no more white rice. White rice happens to be his absolute favorite thing to eat. So I surprised him and made this for him instead, he was amazed and absolutely loved it and said it was a perfect replacement to his white rice

One thing I have discovered with cauliflower is that it holds a lot of water. So whatever recipe you are using, try to get as much of the water out as possible. I use cheese cloth after processing for this recipe, after cooking (and letting it cool a bit) for mash. Makes the cauliflower turn ot fluffy instead of like playdough! Happy noshing!

I just commented to my partner that I wondered if you could do the same with broccoli. I’m so useless at eating vegetables – I really hate cauliflower, but I loved this recipe. I’m not dead keen on broccoli either, but love it in soup, so going to give it a go tomorrow for dinner and see what cauliflower and broccoli rice comes out like! Hopefully I might have found a way to enjoy eating vegetables and cut down carbs at the same time.

Just made this using store bought cauliflower rice that was pre-cut. And boyyyyyy was it good. I sauteed it with the oil for about 4-5 minutes and let it steam for about 2 minutes. Another 30 seconds and it would’ve been overcooked and too mushy. Make sure to keep an eye on it around the 5-minute mark and only add salt once you are finished cooking it if not, it will draw out moisture and ur gonna end up with a huge mushy watery mess.

Making this for the second time, as written, and we love it! Thanks for a great recipe, my boyfriend and I have been cutting back on carbs and this is a great option to go with veggies or comfort casseroles.

I have used pre-riced raw and pre-riced frozen cauliflower. I do not have a food processer (if died and I haven’t replaced it) or grater (I had a food processor so I didn’t need one). I have a tiny refrigerator that simply will not hold a whole head of cabbage or cauliflower along with all the other stuff I have shoved in there. I do have a big freezer though. I have frozen the raw riced cauliflower without blanching it. It seems to result in a more tender “rice”.

Thanks for the share if you dont mind im gonna try to save it or send to my daughter what a great idea honestly even my dog loves her cauliflower.. i remember my mom used to make it with a nice cheese sauce. i think she made it for thanksgiving. awesome dish.. i am trying to cut and or change my diet i do fine till about now for some treason i need something sweet about this time of day if im still awake i bought some sugar free hard candy to try after my surgery the other day im still sick to my stomach when i lay down i sorta kinda remember the nurse telling me the doc put some kind of tablet or capsule insude me after the surgery but before i was sewed up. i think thats it

I am extremely happy i found your website. I have become vegetarian mostly vegan the end of last year and I am always looking for things to make and you have a host of easy things! thank you I look forward to trying all of them!

I just bought a giant head of cauliflower that are available this time of year. What I’d like to know is: after I grate this cauliflower, can I freeze it in individual packages or does it need to be cooked or blanched first?

Thanks! I was wanting to “play” with my favorite stuffing recipe this Thanksgiving. I’ve looked at several blogs and videos on how to “rice” cauliflower. People were just putting it into the food processor with the regular blade, and it looked like a mushy mess! Thank goodness I kept searching! Happy Thanksgiving!

I made the same mistake using the regular blade in the processor, mushy. I couldn’t waste the food so I kept adding seasonings until I added beef stew season packet, half, and cooked it with my chicken and to my surprise if turned out wonderful! Tasted like dressing!

I use the wet chop method for ricing my cauliflower. I don’t know if anyone else mentioned it, but it is even better that the food processor. I halve the cauliflower, cut out the core, then put in the florets in to the blender (mine will only hold one half at a time). Put water over the top till the florets start to float. Blend at the lowest speed for about 15 sec, and then dump in a colander. Perfect riced cauliflower, washed off and ready to go.
Excited to try this recipe out! We eat a lot of mexican flavor here too…and so far I have loved all your recipes, especially the Mediterranean sweet potatoes YUM!

I’m on a soft food, almost liquid diet after mouth surgery and totally fed up with yoghurt etc so grabbed a small bag of cauliflower rice to see what I could do with it. Went really well with some grated cheese, lightly seasoned and microwaved for 3 minutes.

The quickest way to rice cauliflower is to throw florets in the Vitamix, cover with water, then pulse on high for one second a couple of times. Just drain it and squeeze out excess water with a paper towel. Works great.

I am making this today for my granddaughter. I use cauliflower rice a lot. I rice it in my food processor with the S blade and it turns out great. I store what I don’t use in the freezer. When I make hamburgers or ground beef meals I always add cauliflower and broccoli rice to the meat. Everybody loves the meat (they don’t know why) it adds great flavor.
Am really anxious to try this recipe. Thanks for providing it.

Has anyone used a Nutribullet to rice the cauliflower? The blade turns super fast and I am thinking it will liquefy the cauliflower. I suppose I could try the grater method, but so far it sounds really messy!

The cauliflower rice is absolutely fantastic. Great method. I add garlic, onion, green chilli, ginger light soya sauce and black pepper. It really mimics fried rice from my local Chinese restaurant and I save on all the added calories and fats. Thank you.

I Love your recipes I have seen I am looking for recipes that have the amount of protein per serving because I have stage 3B Kidney Disease and have to watch the amount of protein I eat a day do any of your recipes have the amount of protein per serving on them?

I used a flat, course grater and put the bowl in the sink to avoid making a mess. I added chopped red, greeen and yellow bell peppers and chopped onion to the cauliflower and cooked on medium-high temp for about 7 minutes as instructed. My husband absolutely loved it and said that he liked it more than regular rice. I dId not need to use paper towels to blot excess moisture because it wasn’t watery at all. Great recipe!

Loved the cauliflower rice. Served it with the 1 pot Dal (which I did in the crockpot-just threw everything in with a little extra vegie broth)..Served it with grn onion and cilantro..it was delicious! Even my husband, the meat and potatoes guy, said he would eat it for supper. I am really enjoying exploring vegan recipes.

You can use a blender, so easy! Put 2 cups of water in the blender, then put half a head of cauliflower in the blender. Use “chop” or “mix” for 30 seconds. Drain the water well, and you have cauliflower rice! So easy. Saw this on a cooking show.

Can one assume that once it is cooked and drained it won’t absorb more liquid? Say from a casserole type dish that bakes out the excess liquid over time? Should it be under cooked a bit to start out in that scenario?

I made this tonight with the grater on my food processor using the frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots mix from Costco. It worked just fine! My family wasn’t fooled but I thought it was delicious! Cooked it for a couple of minutes w olive oil and garlic.

Hopefully this question hasn’t already been asked, because i didn’t read all of the comments. Has anyone used it in a casserole? Go to for my fam is a casserole with rice smothered in chopped chicken and a cheese sauce. Wondering how it would fare as a substitute for rice in such a dish?

I used this cooking method with a bag of Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower. It turned out great. I’m using it as a rice substitute under turkey with a green curry sauce. I seasoned with salt and pepper after steaming in the skillet. Definitely tastes better this way rather than microwaving (which I did last time).

I did that tonight for the first time, steamed the pieces of cauliflower, then pressed it through a potato ricer into a strainer to let the water drain, then reheated it and served it in place of mashed potatoes. I seasoned it with garlic salt and pepper.

I don’t even bother ricing my cauliflower just cook it in chunks then drain, grate some cheese add to cauliflower and mash it all together, replaces mashed potato. As a diabetic it saves me loads of carbs and is better tasting then potato mash.

I really need to watch my carbs I am a diabetic and sometimes just eating yogurt and tuna fish and things that are quick to grab,, I really like tacos so I have been baking a taco shell multigrain whole wheat in a bowl until it is crisp and then I put in spinach instead of lettuce ,some grilled chicken with some taco sauce mixed in, tomato, Raw riced cauliflower, a tablespoon and two Tbl sp plain yogurt, everything in its own little pile then I pour more taco sauce over everything,, sprinkle it with shredded cheese,,wonderful

Hi! Cauliflower contains sulfur compounds that naturally smell unpleasant and are brought out when cooked. Because of this, you’ll never fully be able to eliminate the smell, but you can minimize it. Be sure to not overcook it and if need be, add 1 tbsp of vinegar which should combat the strong smell! Apparently avoiding cooking it in an aluminum or iron helps as well! Good luck! :D

Just used a Mandoline Slicer to make the cauliflower rice. Have a vertical slicing attachment which worked perfectly. Would have been easier if the core wasn’t already removed from the cauliflower. I’m completely sold on this method.

Used the “rice” in a crab curry today – just added the cauliflower after all the other veggies and curry paste was in, but a few minutes before adding the coconut milk to simmer. About 5 min later, drop in the pre-cooked crab meat. Yummy!

This is great. I did use the grater attachment on the food processor and it was perfect. I put the “rice” into a clean dish towel to remove as much moisture as I could. Then I sauteed with the cover off, kept stirring and tasting. I added a little salt to help the taste and to remove more moisture. There was still plenty left to tenderize it to a chinese rice consistency. At some point while tasting, it stopped tasting like cauliflower and started to actually taste a lot like rice. This is the coolest thing since spaghetti squash.

Tried this with my family tonight and we all enjoyed it! We come from Cuban & Colombian backgrounds so we were unsure if we could really enjoy a different “rice” (ha,ha) but this sold us! Enjoyed it with Jambalaya today; looking forward to trying it with our traditional recipes soon.

Used the cheese grater on the medium holes, grated the whole head (made quite the mess) and sauteed with olive oil for ten mins on super low just till they browned a bit. Added salt and pepper and it’s delicious! Will def make this again

I have never made Cauliflower Rice and am new to the concept. Is it generally used as a tasty side dish, or do you use it as a “base” for stir fries (replacing traditional rice) and other savory dishes?

I made this recipe this morning, my 1st time doing anything other than steaming cauliflower. Made the recipe to a T. In addition to a teaspoon fresh minced ginger. Turned out perfect and delish! Thank you ?

I just bought mine ready made in a plastic bag at my supermarket, it still has another day to run on the ‘use by’ date. I thought it didn’t smell right as I put in the microwave and sure enough now I’ve tasted it it is off, horrible sour taste. I did think this must be hard to keep fresh in plastic packaging.
Typical of supermarkets!

Just tried this for the first time tonight. Used a food processor that uses a blender base. The shredder disc cut it too fine. The S-Blade worked perfectly and quickly. For me it came out small – like couscous. I chose to cook in 2 T of coconut oil then added salt, pepper and lime. Put our chipotle grilled chicken, tomato, avocado, and salsa on top for a great mexi-bowl. This rice lover was impressed!!

I have hesitated to try the blender or food processor versions because I was afraid it would turn into cauliflower puree (which is delicious but not what I wanted to have tonight). So I tried your cheese grater version. Thanks for the suggestion!

Maybe I’m a bad grater because it was a bit messy with little pieces of cauliflower flinging out everywhere. (The dog enjoyed that part.)

I finally managed to grate 3/4 of a large head into a bowl, squeezed out some moisture, sautéed/steamed it with garlic and evoo and splashed some soy sauce on at the end and it was really nice.

Now that I know cauliflower rice really does taste good, I have the courage to try the food processor version next time. Thanks again! Your pictures are beautiful.

Also consider cauliflower alfredo sauce. Did not even notice the difference. i found a recipe that still used 1/4 cup cream and 2tbls butter an a sprinkled with Parmesan on top so not vegan but certainly healthier then the cup of cream 4 tablespoons butter cup of Parmesan I had been using.

There’s nothing wrong with the cream version. We Ned fat in our diet in order to make cholesterol which makes hormones. Fat is non insulinegic. It’s carbs that are bad. I’d use the full fat Alfredo on spiraled veggies instead of gluten or other carb loaded pasta.

Thank you for saying that Erika! So many people have been duped over the last 30 years by the sugar industry’s “research” that targeted fat as the culprit for heart disease…. so wrong….. It’s no wonder why the obesity rate (and Type II Diabetes) went up with the “low fat” craze. With less fat came more sugar! Cauliflower Rice is awesome! No Carbs to turn into sugar! Thank you for sharing your recipe!

Just made it with your method. Very easy and so tasty. Didn`t even have a very distinct cauliflower taste, so I think it wouldn`t change the taste of the sauce too much. However, next time I`m adding some carom seeds (Ajwain), as cauliflower tends to cause a bit of bloating with me. he he

I’ve made it with the food processor using the blade; pulse the florets until they resemble couscous! It keeps several days but does have a strong smell until cooked!
I added toasted pecans and golden raisins for a Thanksgiving side.

They sell 3lbs. ready to cook @ Sam’s Club I just saw it in the flyer the brand name is called Ittella Rice Cauliflower. I’m going to Sam’s Club to buy a bag and try it. Less work & mess shredding it. Have a blessed day.

I bought the Bird’s Eye version in a steam able bag, with herb seasoning. Popped it in the microwave for 4 minutes, put it on a plate with some sliced chicken breast for my lunch. It was very good. I got it in the frozen vegetable section.

There are a few brands of the riced cauliflower that are sold in different grocery stores in the produce section, usually by where they have the pre-chopped veggies. My regular grocery store carries it, Trader Joes has a version as well. Makes it a lot easier!

So happy I found this page. Just rand to stop and shop and presto, they had callflower rice in the pre package produce section. I am a happy girl. It’s cooking now and looks and smells great gonna have with my peppered steak.

I agree. Besides the reduced cost, the added chemicals & plastic in the frozen bags scare me. I read a meme on fb the other day :”Its time to stop counting calories so much and start counting chemicals”. This really got me to thinking about it. I have been clean eating for a year, but still grab frozen or precooked for convenience on occasion. The change to cleaner eating has been amazing. Much less inflammation and a lot of weight loss. I think I’ll step up my game & try to go even cleaner with my food choices. :) My question is, can the riced cauliflower be frozen & still have a good texture when cooked later?

hi Kathy
washed my head of cauliflower with vinegar and sea salt.. left in Colander to dry and put in food processor… very easy.. of course I had to wash a couple of utensils but it was worth it especially if you like organic veggies

I love this post as you are preparing a real and fresh cauliflower ….without having been washed with who knows what, and then packaged and sold in a bag. Who knows how old that stuff is…. or how many hands went into processing it.

I agree. I will check Sams. I just grated a head of cauliflower and it does make such a mess!! Since the last tim I didn’t use it all quickly and had to throw it out, I am freezing some for future use. Thanks for this Sams tip.

There are a lot of reasons to use pre-prepped foods. I can think of many which have nothing to do with laziness.

Among them:
Illness
Arthritis
Weakness of the back, legs, ankles or feet.
People who live in constant pain or who are afflicted with fibromyalgia or any type of nerve pain.
Mood disorders such as clinical depression.
Grief related depression.
Exhaustion from overwork, illness or as a side effect of medication.

Let’s not forget that many people have circumstances in which they have little time for prep and need to get a meal on the table for their family, while keeping the peace, helping with homework and dealing with household issues at the same time.

My feeling is that we should encourage them for any steps they take to include more variety of ingredients to their menu; not try to shame them because they use a prepared product.

If the only way theyre going to include more vegetables is by using a pre-prepped product, then lets encourage that. The alternative is more likely to be another prepared food product from the pantry or from the freezer.

Injecting self-importance and unneeded criticism is contra to the larger goal.

Thank you Mark O, for your inspiring encouragement. I am one of those people with chronic diseases, some of which you mentioned. Cooking any meal is a challenge. I was seeking a different way to prepare cauliflower and found the recipe attached to the reviews I’ve read. I became discouraged while reading some of the reviews due to the fact I can’t stand long eough to prep fresh vegetable and thought perhaps I shouldn’t try this recipe because of my health issuses until I saw yours. You have eased my thoughts of feeling guilty for needing to simplify utilizing the frozen version of cauliflower rice. I am making it tonight.

well said Mark O. after a long day at work. I have to help 2 kids with homework and take care of a baby. Hubby is tired too. I’d love to make this recipe every once in awhile but the prepackaged is convenient and we still get to eat healthy!

Convenient does not mean lazy. anyone who has long hours at work… and on their feet a lot is not lazy. Kudos to everyone making moves to being healthy. Fresh or prepackaged it is still a better food choice to include into your meals. that’s the misconception. Some people think it’s hard to eat healthy… it’s not. there’s many ways to do it and make it convenient to any lifestyle. And when you do have time or energy…. fresh is the way to go! :)

Thank you Mark O, in this day and age it seems as if empathy is low. I too have been diagnosed with chronic pain condition and have pain specifically in my hands, fingers, shoulders and legs. Let us all try harder to be kind.

Well said. I have Erosive arthritis in my hands so chopping is very hard for me. I get tired of people making comments that we are lazy. Maybe when they get older they will realize how difficult it is if you don’t have full use of your hands.

I think I love you. Thanks for your comment on “Not being lazy. I use to enjoy cooking and would not be caught buying prepackaged food if I could do it myself. However, life took a turn and I suffer from chronic pain and standing in the kitchen to wash a dish takes a toll on me know. So, prepackaged means convenience now. Thanks

I agree. I have RA, LUPUS, fibromyalgia and etc. Had to learn it is okay to use pre-prepped food. I have always been a do it myself, fresh start to finish cook. Sometimes not able to do anything and will have to eat out or use pre-prepped food. Pre-prepped beats eating out. Try to not sound so boastful when making comments about your choice or method.

Even if we do use pre-prepped food (and don’t need to for health reasons you listed) it is still better than going through the drive thru. TBH I never really learned to cook and have been self-teaching. I want to try new recipes, but get nervous about making some things. I might try the pre-prepped cauliflower rice first and then try making it on my own in the future.

Except driving out of my way using the time I used to not grate my cauliflower to have my purchases from Sam’s club scrutinized over proving I purchased them. Plus I avoid stress but not going to that beautiful retail experience they provide

Good for you. It took me less time to do this than you did waiting in line to buy the bag. And did you realize you paid 4x? Please don’t dis people that take the time to actually do things for themselves. Hey! Prime day was yesterday…did you stock up?

In general you’re better off buying your food with as minimal processing as possible. Every step in processing is an opportunity to introduce food borne bacteria such as e-coli and listeria. Processed food loses nutrients through exposure of all those cut surfaces to air and heat required to attempt to create a clean processing environment. Moreover, more processing also inevitably means more using plastic. Go for the mess!

I have some cauliflower that I need to use up as I have an overzealous neighbour who brings me a cauliflower every week. I live in NZ and maybe we do things differently but I much prefer to make things myself.

look up Dr Berg, pizza base…. made with only 2 cups grated cauliflower (rice), 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese and 2 eggs… I pre cook, let cool and chop into pieces to use with cheese and dips instead of crackers…